Dave, Smudge, and I are in the last five days of production on Well Fed 2. We have to eat our meals on the kitchen island or on the couch in front of the TV (so bad! so bad! so bad!) because we’ve temporarily moved our workspace from our separate studio offices to inside our house. The dining room table is unrecognizable under the laptops, digital drawing pad, iPhone cables, stacks of printouts, post-its, used and abandoned tea cups, dark chocolate wrappers, and mail that probably needs our attention.

All of which is a long way to say I’m incapable of writing you a proper blog post, but I thought I’d give you a quick update on what’s happening and point you toward some of the stuff that’s keeping me afloat, even as I might be losing my mind. (Two days ago, I looked at the words “garnish” and “waffle” so many times, I was convinced they were misspelled. I actually LOOKED UP how to spell “waffle.” I’m not kidding.)

What’s Happening

Proofreading: The first day I held the printed copy of the original Well Fed in my hands, I turned to the recipe for Spinach and Meat Muffins to use it in my kitchen. I was delighted that I would finally be cooking from my book, instead of the laptop screen or a crappy print out. I flipped to page 105 and found a typo! In my freshly-printed book that we’d copy edited (twice!) and proofed (twice!). Then I turned to Bora Bora Fireballs and found another typo. My breath grew shallow, my blood ran cold, I felt faint… OK. That’s an over-dramatization, but I was pretty upset. I do not want to experience that again! This time, we’re reading the whole book out loud (245 pages) to do our final check on language, typos, etc. It’s very tedious, and I suspect when Dave and I are finished, we won’t talk to each other for a day or so, just to have a break. Smudge, as usual, is not helping.

Workouts: Although I haven’t had time to write about them, I’m still doing my workouts with Mark at Movement Minneapolis. We have weekly phone calls to supplement the workouts he provides for me, and every time we talk, he gives me new ideas about how I can tweak what I’m doing to make a little more progress. He seems to have endless good ideas. I love the workouts and the technique a ridiculous amount. If you’re curious about how it all works, I encourage you to visit Dave Dellanave’s site and sign up for “This Goes Against Everything I’ve Been Taught.”

Meditation: I’ve been meditating 5-7 times per week, and while it cannot eliminate all the stress I’m feeling right now, it is helping me roll with it and at least for the 21 minutes that I’m meditating, it gives me a time-out from to-do lists and shallow breaths. The mantra I’m loving right now is known as “long ek ong kar,” and I swear to you on my jar of Sunbutter, it makes time elastic — my meditation time is over before I realized I’ve even started. It is 100% restorative. (If you’re curious, you can listen to the mantra here.)

Meals: I’m eating Whole30 style except for the occasional square of dark chocolate. This is me, eating collard greens for breakfast every morning.

Supernatural: Every night, when we’re finished with work for the day, we watch an episode of Supernatural on Netflix. We started with the pilot and are now about halfway through season two. If you haven’t seen the show, it’s a fun mix of spooky stories about unusual phenomena, family drama, and people who are easy on the eyes. It’s truly excellent entertainment that demands nothing from me except that I sit there. Perfect.

My haircut: I’m still loving the ease and sass of my new short haircut, but I had a funny run-in at the post office I thought y’all might enjoy. There was a time when I was hitting the post office a lot to mail books. One of the clerks always said something, like, “Hello, pretty lady!” and complimented me on my long hair. Like, every time. It was very sweet and maybe also a little weird, but whatever. The other day, he greeted me with the usual “pretty lady” bit, then said, with mild admonition, “You cut your hair.” I was tempted to say, “Well done, Captain Obvious.” but I decided not to be a bitch and said, instead, “Yes, I did.” Which prompted a barrage of follow-up questions that began with, “Not that it doesn’t look good, but…”
– “Why would you cut off your pretty hair?”
– “How long will it take you to grow it back?”
– “Never? You’re never going to grow it back?”Dude. Seriously. Get over it.He clearly needs to read this. And to all the dudes who think women need to have long hair, I agree with Audrey Hepburn in the last photo.

My health (schmealth): At my last visit to the dentist, I had alarmingly high blood pressure (grrrrr!), and I’m still not losing my belly fat (double-grrrrrr!), though I am building muscle (yay!). My previous functional medicine guru Dr. Sebring recently changed his practice, so I’m trying a new doctor next Monday. Dr. Amy Myers (at Austin Ultrahealth) was recommended to me by one of the attendees of my Whole Foods cooking class. Fingers crossed that this new doc can help me get everything back in alignment. More on that as the story unfolds.

The Cornetto Triology!: Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are two of my favorite movies, so I’m stupid excited about The World’s End opening this week. We already have tickets for Saturday night. And you know what?! I’m probably going to have some popcorn and a glass of Prosecco.

That’s all of my news. Send your positive energy to Dave, Smudge, and I as we slog through these last few days of Well Fed 2 production. And if you haven’t done it yet, I would totally appreciate if you pre-ordered our new book on Amazon. You’ll get it as soon as it’s available, and you’ll help us maybemaybe maybe make The New York Times Bestseller list. We’ve been close a few times with the original Well Fed, and it would be fun to make it happen with WF2.

I can’t thank you enough for WELL FED and I have pre-ordered WF2 to add to my collection of cook books. My husband might cut me off after WF2 arrives, I think I have enough cook books for now.

I’ve started and ended more Whole30’s within days than I can count, but I’m working on it…it’s tough to commit 100% when my kids are breaditarian pastafarians and my husband refuses to give up his English muffins, and my love of heavy cream is almost legendary. Work in progress. Your book helps tremendously and I can’t thank you enough for Zoodles which we eat almost every night straight from the garden. Never before has the annual Zucchini Zhower been so welcome.

I hear ya about the annoying hair comments! In fact, I would like to add another one to the haircut meme: “When are you going to grow your hair back?!” As someone who had beyond-butt-length blond hair until her mid-teens, my parents have STILL not gotten over the fact – nearly 15 years later! – that I cut it all off. The people I grew up with couldn’t care less, and the ones who never knew me with long hair “can’t imagine it”, and think I rock the short look. But my folks still not-so-subtly get their hate on for it whenever I see them. Personally, I think my mother still harbours regrets about cutting all her hair off when she was a teen…

Five(?) years ago I stopped coloring my hair. Cold Turkey. Went from a series of deep red/auburn shades to a whole lotta silver.
For the first THREE YEARS a customer would tell me, every time he saw me, “I liked it better red”. Which, after the third time, made me SEE red!
Sorry dude, my husband and I love it silver!
Can’t wait for the new book!!

I have my own funny short hair story. I had LOOOOOONG hair my whole life… I was engaged to a guy before I woke up and switched to the “All Gals Softball Team” if you catch my drift. I cut my hair all off a few years after that… never went back. (these two events are not related)

Anyway.. fast forward 15 years.. old fiance is on Facebook.. we become Facebook Friends… I come out with “Hey..not so much into guys anymore.. this is my parter”.. I show a pic of the two of us. .. he doesn’t get all weird about ANYTHING other than “OMG! Why did you cut off your beautiful HAIR!?”

I have already preordered WF2, and should probably order an extra copy since my WF1 already has SEVERAL pages wet/stained/etc because I use it ALL THE GODDAMN TIME. WF1 totally got me through my first Whole30, and WF2 is going to get me through the next couple I do. I totally can’t wait! You do great work!

I just ordered Well Fed, and I also pre-ordered Well Fed 2 on Amazon. I can’t say how excited I am going to be to when I get this book in my hot little hands! I love cooking, and since I have switched to a healthier lifestyle, I am looking to go totally Paleo. There are an overwhelming number of awesome things said about your book! I really, really, can’t wait!

I am a huge Supernatural fan. Believe it or not, my husband got me hooked on it, and I’m now caught up through Season 7. Season 4 has some seriously silly episodes in it, to lighten up the tension, which I really love. If you like silly and campy, you’ll love them.

I checked your book out at the library. Loved it! Was sad (and hungry) when I returned it. Ordered it and then pre-ordered your next one. I have NEVER pre-ordered a book. Thanks for making another one.
Now I’m going to start the Whole30 with my husband, brother and his girlfriend.

I am counting down the days till Well Fed 2! Pre-ordered awhile back. Something you wrote above caught my eye – shallow breathing. I was experiencing that last year – like I couldn’t catch my breath or was hungry for air. It was so weird! My doctor said it was stress and wanted me to take a prescription. I tried a supplement instead called Gabatrol. It works like a charm and you can take on an as needed basis. It works really fast! Just wanted to pass this along!

Mel,
Oh my goodness you have saved my life. I am on a Paleo journey to lose weight and feel better. I was SO incredibly lost in where to begin. Then I found ‘Well Fed’. Lifesaver 101, I can’t believe how easy you make it seem. I tried 2 of the recipes and decided I can do this. I am so excited to start! Then, I found you here…can I just live inside this blog forever?? Double save my life. Thank you so much for breaking it down in easy to manage steps. Can NOT WAIT for ‘Well Fed 2’!! Loving you here in San Antonio!
-Sara

Hurray for olive oil mayo! I would have eaten the whole thing except I would have barfed!I followed your instructions exactly and how beautiful is my mayo! Love it! And I am still obsessed about the Pad Thai! Thank you once again for helping me make the Whole 30 (probably a whole 60) interesting and rekindling my love of cooking. Now I really enjoy the care I put into my food and the reward of delicious food.

Congrats on your mayo success — happy eating! Good for you on Whole30-ing (Whole60-ing!). I’m about to start a 14-week experiment of elimination/re-introduction, and I’m a little intimidated, but it’s only food, right?!

I wish you the very best. I have spent 10 years being undiagnosed with pain and weakness. And have seen many “great” doctors. Eliminating food has helped alot and making lifestyle changes relaxing, breathing and I am hoping that if I continue on it will make a difference. I think that anything that can make you feel better is worth trying. I will be cheering you on from here.

Hi Mel love your blog and every time I try a recipe I am AMAZED! Stove top carnitas were my first of yours and they were to die for. Anyhow I had a question on the book – is Well Fed 2 an entire new collection of recipes or does it build on Well Fed? Should I order the first one first or go straight to #2? I can probably guess the answer

Well Fed has lots of info on how to make cooking faster and easier with a Weekly Cookup and Hot Plates. Really good for transitioning into Paleo — plus tons of recipes that taste amazing.

Well Fed 2 has 150+ recipes and variations, including almost 50 “quick meals” that don’t need a recipe — they’re just ideas for stuff you can make with ingredients you have on hand… also, 15 kinds of meatballs, 11 sauces you can make with mayo.

If you get bored of Supernatural, you should totally try Warehouse 13 and Fringe. I just finished the last episode of Fringe Season 4 and I’m going to start watching Supernatural while I wait for Season 5 to be released. Love me some scifi!

Shirataki (Yam) noodles. Made a stir fry with these tonight and was blown away by the ease of prep(just rinsed and dried with paper towels; they came in a refrigerated package.)I just Googled a dry roasting technique to make firmer and more pasta like for next time. Thoughts on these? If cereal is what Mel misses, pasta is my ultimate comfort food and deepest desire. Horray!!!

I am so excited about Well Fed 2, My Well Fed cookbook is well loved and use it all the time!! You are inspiration that through all you work you are able to maintain the meditation and workouts. Thanks for your update

I’m late to this party but I just have to say OMG Supernatural!!!! You’re going to love the rest of it. The repeated injury (especially head trauma!) you just have to hand wave, but. . . the characters! the relationships! the angst! There’s lots more to come — just wait until you get to Season 4! For that matter, just to the end of S2! And..and…and…*flails*

I actually cosplayed as Dean (my friend and I were the short & female Sam &Dean) as a recent con. Lotsa fun! And I got to meet Adrian Paul (you have to have been a Highlander fan! ?).

Sorry for that outburst. I have also pre-ordered WF2 and will probably send a bunch more copies out at Christmas. Yay!

coco chanel on destiny

"I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little – if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny." – Coco Chanel

get hip with my lingo

castle storming: to participate in daring physical activity while regular people are still asleep

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